Tonight I was very blessed to attend a private reception with Mr. Herman Cain, keynote speaker for tomorrow’s “Defending The American Dream Summit,” hosted by American’s For Prosperity – Arkansas.

Mr. Cain visited with us individually before making some comments & hosting Q&A.  Below are some of my tweets from tonight, featuring some of his best quotes from his speech [in reverse chronological order].

Herman Cain grew up in a low-income family, living in a south Georgia duplex.  He & his brother slept on cots in the kitchen.  His father was a barber, janitor, & chauffeur, working all three jobs just to get by.  Cain cites his dad’s work ethic & determination as a driving force behind his own success.  “My dad had two goals in life.  The first goal was to own a house.  The second goal was for me to be the CEO in the back of his limousine.”   Herman went on to be CEO of Godfather’s Pizza & Burger King.  He also served as Vice President of Pillsbury.

Cain says the only thing he has failed at in life is retirement–he’s failed three times.  After leaving the business world briefly, Cain is now a popular conservative talk-show host.  According to his comments tonight, he is considering a run for the White House in 2012.

One of the most moving stories that Mr. Cain shared tonight is featured here in this video.  One week ago tonight, Mr. Cain was in Douglas County, Georgia speaking at a TEA Party rally.  Lewis had the last question of the night:

Cain’s story and comments tonight are too inspiring & frankly too powerful to be fully conveyed through an article.  He’s a real example of the American Dream and we are honored to have him in Little Rock with us this weekend.

• Cain prayer: “We know you didn’t bring us this far in this country to leave us.” #ARDAD #tcot #fb about 4 hours ago via txt
• “The last time a perfect candidate was around, they hung him on a cross & killed him.” – Herman Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb about 4 hours ago via txt
• “We’ve got to work together or we lose.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago via txt
• “The good news is that the #TEAParty is working. The bad news is that it’s starting to fracture.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago via txt
• “I told my kids Obama is trying to take away their inheritance. They became conservatives overnight.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb about 4 hours ago via txt
• “I went from mathematics & science to pepperoni & sauce. Only in America!” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago
• “Caller said I should be ashamed for criticizing Obama. I said, ‘Sir, some black people can think for themselves.’ ” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb
• “Jeanine Garrafalo called me a racist.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot
• “We’ll keep them (GOP) accountable. We have the internet now.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago
• “Nothing is going to change until we put someone in the White House who’s willing to tick off both parties–and that’s me.” -Cain #ARDAD #fb
• “Is that an announcement? No. That’s prayerful consideration!” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb
• Q: “How do we get rid of the entitlement mentality?” A: “Elect me President of the United States.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb
• “The only thing I’ve ever failed at–retirement. I’ve flunked 3 times.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago
• “Dad’s first dream was to own a house. His second dream was for his son to be the exec. sitting in the back of his limo.” -Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago
• “My brother & I slept on a cot in the kitchen.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago
• “He never complained, he never took gov’t handouts. He was never a member of a union.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago
• “My dad was a barber, janitor, & chauffeur–just to get by.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 4 hours ago
• “God is in this movement.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb about 4 hours ago
• “We’ve got to keep God in our culture. We need to teach our kids the 2nd verse of the Star-Spangled Banner.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb about 4 hours ago
• “Save the savable. We’re not going to inspire everyone, but we’ve got to reach everyone we can.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 5 hours ago
• Caller: “I need a mulligan–I voted for Obama!” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 5 hours ago
• “I wanna wake up on Nov. 3rd and know I did all I could. The rest is in God’s hands.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb about 5 hours ago
• “I’m running for freedom & liberty.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot about 5 hours ago
• “I’m not sensitive about this color thing. We are human beings first. We are Americans second.” – Cain #ARDAD #tcot #fb about 5 hours ago
• “Neal Bortz is on vacation perfecting his tan. I’m filling in for him–mine is already perfect.” – Cain #ARDAD #fb about 5 hours ago
• “The citizens movement across America is real & it’s growing.” – Cain #ARDAD #fb about 5 hours ago via txt

I will be tweeting my thumbs off from the Summit all day tomorrow.  Follow me at twitter.com/NicholasHHorton for live updates.

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The Arkansas Patriot is a conservative organization dedicated to equipping citizens with the truth, insuring transparent government, and encouraging citizens to question their government boldly.  The editor can be reached at arkansaspatriot@gmail.com Follow The Patriot on Twitter and Facebook.